When Curses Collide
by Accidental Paradox
Summary: Ranma Crossover. A new school student arrives, and there's more curses and trouble than anyone could have bargained for!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, Ranma 1/2 or any of the related plots and characters. I make no money from writing this. Holds up a sign that says "Poor Student" Sue me and you'll get a brown lemon, three water biscuits and a tattered issue of "Tv Zone".**

**When Curses Collide**

Ranma woke before dawn, just as he always did. What made this day different was that he did not have to dodge a single punch or kick as soon as his eyes opened. Even though two months had passed, he lay there every morning expecting the attack to come; then his memories came back to him, and he remembered that his father was long gone, and that there was little if ever chance of seeing him again.

"Stupid panda..." He grumbled, sitting bolt upright in his annoyance and bashing his head on the low pole holding up his tent. Cursing, he stumbled out of bed and went about the rather boring task of heating up some hot water on the tiny stove. As he did a few warm up exercises he thought over the sorry mess that had led him to be stuck by himself in a tent with a lump on his head in the first place.

Jusenkyo, for one. He could have killed his father then; taking them to that training ground without even knowing what waited for them there! Surely if he had known they wouldn't have gone within miles of it, but no - his father hadn't bothered to learn even a word of Chinese and had gotten them in springs and cursed as quick as you can say "Drowned Girl." After that things went even further downhill. Literally. After chasing a terrified panda for two days all the way down the mountain, he found out the hard way via a steaming bowl of ramen and an unfortunate roadside vendor that the curse was only temporary, and water activated. Of course by then relations with his father were... strained to say the least.

Even after getting both of them transformed back, and going back to the guide to get some information, (Okay, threatening to kill him unless he helped them was slightly more accurate.) the knowledge that the curses were at present incurable was too much for his father to take. This was the part that had puzzled Ranma the most. He'd thought his dad was made of sterner stuff. It did piss him off that his dad seemed more worried about his son's curse than his own though. He'd kept blathering about how he'd raised Ranma to be "a man among men" and what a "tragedy" it was. Ranma was fully aware of the tragic implications of his curse, but to hear his dad saying that he was a weakling had been too much to bear, and an argument had quickly started. Then even more information had come to light, like how Ranma had been engaged without his knowledge to a bunch of women he had never even met, how his mother couldn't know about his curse or she'd force both him and his father to commit ritual suicide, and just how inferior his father felt girls, (even half-girls) to be.

Much raising of voices and one unconscious panda later, and Ranma had packed up his things and left. He'd gotten back to Japan several weeks later through a combination of breaking the law and being too fast to get caught. The only times he thought well of his father were when he silently thanked him for the training that allowed him to escape cruise ship security, police officers at Customs, shop owners (Usually the ones unlucky enough to sell fresh okonomiyaki) and one very persistent guy who had tried to ask Ranma out on a date in a rainstorm and wouldn't take "no" for an answer. Ranma still had nightmares about that one...

Now it was just over eleven weeks since he had first fallen into the Jusenkyo spring, and Ranma still hadn't heard from Genma. He would barely even admit it to himself but beneath all the anger he did miss the old man, and planned to try to track him down eventually.

"First things first though. I gotta build a life for myself somewhere." He had promised himself a fresh start, travelling across Japan until he found a likely place to call home. On the outskirts of a town there was a huge area of countryside where he could pitch his tent and live without being noticed. He had got himself a job as a janitor in one of the offices in a nearby business district, but in order for him to get the job, they had wanted to know which school he was attending and so he'd been forced to enrol in the local high school. He really hadn't wanted to bother with school - he had no idea how he'd hide his curse from all the students, and he wasn't very good with lessons anyway, especially after spending years on the road with his father. It was only after he thought it through that he made up his mind. His father was the reason he was in this mess. Ignoring his parent's skewed views of academics and getting an education might be the best thing for him right now.

So here he was, about to start his first day at a new school, and his head was already hurting before he'd even left.

"I knew education was nothing but a pain." He moaned, packing away his breakfast things and setting off down the forest trail. He had glimpsed a road that led towards the school a few days ago along the same route. When he did come to the road he was surprised to see that while it was certainly more than just a track it was obviously used little and wasn't for heavy traffic.

"Odd, I was sure this is the right direction..."

Then he noticed a house, just visible through the enormous trees to his left. It was large and had beautiful landscaped gardens, but was seemingly placed at random in the middle of nowhere, despite the gates and mailbox that said simply "Sohma."

Curious, Ranma peered through the gates as he walked past, wondering what sort of people lived so far away from the town. As he did so, he almost bumped into a boy running in the opposite direction, and yelling at the top of a very good set of lungs.

_"I told you already! I'm not goi - Aaahh!"_

Ranma managed to dodge nimbly out of the way, but the boy swerved too violently and collided with the gate post. Ranma turned, and was about to ask if he was okay but the last thing he saw was a blur of bright orange hair as the sped off in the direction of the forest, accompanied by a shouted _"I'm just NOT going! You hear me!"_

A bemused Ranma considered going after him for a second, but was brought out of his thoughts by an exasperated sigh from behind him. This time it was another boy, this time dressed in a school uniform. His hair and eyes were a peculiar mix of grey and violet, and he was incredibly handsome in a feminine sort of way. He looked vaguely in the direction the first boy had gone and sighed again.

"That stupid cat..."

Ranma tensed.

"Cat! _Where!"_

"Oh, nowhere. Never mind." The boy said, looking surprised and nervous, as if he had been caught at something. "Sorry; can I help you?"

"Er no, sorry, I was just passing by." Ranma stammered, not wanting to admit he was being nosy.

"Passing by? This place is a bit far out of the way for walks."

"I ...er, live near here..." Ranma said, looking back at the dense forest and wishing he had thought this excuse through a bit more.

The boy looked understandably confused, and there was an awkward silence.

"Um, this road; it leads to the main street with the high school, right?" Ranma said at last.

"Yes it does. I take it you're trying to get to the school?"

"Yeah, I'm a new student as of today."

"Oh! Well I'll take you, if you like. In fact, you may be the person our President told me I'd be looking after today. What's your name?" the boy asked. He had a quiet sense of responsibility about him, and Ranma found himself being unusually trusting.

"Ranma Saotome." he said, offering his hand.

"Yes, that's right. You'll be in my classes. I'm Yuki Sohma. Sorry about the commotion." Yuki took his hand rather gingerly, but his grip was strong and Raman carefully matched it.

"Geez, he may be skinny but he's stronger than he looks!" Ranma thought to himself.

"No need to apologise or nothin'. I'm just glad I found someone who knows where they're going." he said aloud. Gesturing for Yuki to lead the way, he fell in step beside him, and failed to notice the amber eyes boring into his back as he walked away.

----------------------------------------------------

As they rounded a corner onto the main street, Ranma was surprised to see Yuki suddenly looking very nervous. He had dug his hands into his pockets, and was glancing around as if expecting an attack any moment.

"Hey, what is it man?" Ranma asked. "Somethin' wrong?"

Yuki didn't seem to hear him, but muttered to himself "I hope they're not here today..."

"Who?" Ranma said, puzzled.

"Oh, erm..." Yuki stammered, embarrassed.

He began to say something else, but Ranma never discovered what it was. At that moment, three girls burst out of a hedge in front of them. They were dressed in school uniforms, and looked none the worse for wear after their shrubervian shortcut. However, they did take the time to primp themselves a little (a lightning-fast manoeuvre that took less than a second) before launching into... a cheerleading routine. Ranma just stood, mouth agape as the three girls whisked out some pompoms and began to chant:

"L-O-V-E!

We love Yuki!

Love! Love! Love!

Yuki!

Love! Love! Love!

L-O-V-E!"

They finished with a triumvirate hi-five and stood, their legs bent in painful gymnastic angles, eyes focused with brain-bleeding intensity on Yuki - who for the most part, looked like he wanted to die.

"Good Morning." he said, nodding his head politely and pulling Ranma along with him as he deftly sidestepped around them and moved off at a fast walk. By the time they had managed to unlock their joints and overcome their shock, Yuki and Ranma were a quarter of a mile up the street and couldn't hear their exclamations. Much.

"Did you hear that? Prince Yuki said "Good Morning" to us!"

"Did you see that _exotic_ guy with him?"

"Our President must hear of this!"

Eventually their voices faded, and silence descended upon the boys once more. Ranma was the first to break it.

"Wow...just, wow!" he said softly, his eyes wide.

"Please, don't ask..." Yuki almost whispered, sure he was blushing and furious with himself for seeming weak.

"No man I mean it - How do you manage to make "Good Morning" also sound like "Oh no, not again!" and "I wish you'd go away!" and "I hate Mondays!" all at the same time? You have talent!" Ranma laughed at Yuki's confused face, and then they both grinned.

"It takes practice." Yuki said. "They do that every day."

"What? _Every _day?" Ranma exclaimed. "That's scary!"

"I know." Yuki sighed. "At least we got away quickly enough. We won't be late."

"That's good." Ranma agreed. "I don't want to make a bad impression on my first da - WHOAH!"

He only just dodged the spray from the watering can, and it's owner jerked back in surprise.

"Sorry! Didn't see you!"

"Tha - at's o-okay..." Ranma panted, his heart starting to beat again. That had been too close! He saw Yuki giving him an odd look, then realised he'd looked a bit strange, leaping several metres into the air just to avoid a little splash of water.

"Like I said, I don't want to give them a bad impression." He said, laughing nervously.

"You'll be fine." Said Yuki reassuringly, as they continued their walk, though his mind was now elsewhere. He kept thinking about Ranma - his sudden appearance, his odd behaviour, and now his frightened leap. Any further and Yuki was sure that he would have broken some sort of record. Ranma was no ordinary student, that's for sure!

----------------------------------------------------

The rest of the day passed in the usual confused blur that any new high school student must experience. Ranma was relieved to have Yuki on hand to help him with things. At the very least it meant that he never got lost on the way to his classes. He was worried by some of the looks some of the girls were giving him. Not being able to read their expressions very well he assumed they were mad at him about something. He decided for the most part to stay out of their way. The last thing he needed while he was here was trouble. Yuki hadn't mentioned their hectic journey to the school at all, not even the orange haired boy that he had been with earlier. Ranma hadn't seen him at the school, but then he _had _said he wasn't going to go... somewhere. Why not school? Yuki didn't seem worried, so Ranma decided not to bring the matter up. He hadn't had much chance for a quiet chat anyway, what with all the dodging he was having to do. Who would have thought a _school _could hold so much water! He was sure it was the curse, but of course he couldn't do anything about it except try his hardest not to get splashed. The last time with the vase of flowers in the maths lesson had required agility he didn't know he possessed, and he was already getting sympathetic "Unlucky, aren't you?" comments.

"You don't know the half of it..." He grumbled to himself after the third such sympathetic conversation. At least it was time to go home, and Yuki had promised to meet him at the gate so they could walk back. They met as planned, with Yuki wearing an unusually enthusiastic smile.

"I saw them leave - the Fan Club members." he said, in answer to Ranma's questioning look. Ranma nodded in sympathy. He'd heard about the "Prince Yuki Fan Club" from the other students. The guy had it rough.

"I think I'm with you when I say I'm quite relieved!" Ranma said with a grin, Talking companionably, Yuki and Ranma left the school grounds just as the sun began to touch the distant rooftops.

----------------------------------------------------

"Man! What a long day!" Ranma flopped onto his sleeping bag and reached for a bag of sweets he'd stashed under his pack.

He'd managed to leave Yuki at the gates to the Sohma house. The other boy had seemed very curious about where exactly Ranma lived, and he'd had to think fast to avoid too many awkward questions - namely making an excuse that he had to go in a hurry and sprinting up the road before a surprised Yuki could say anything in reply. Once out of sight of the house he had cut into the forest, keeping an eye out for anyone who would see him.

"Phew! I made it!" He said happily. A whole day without his curse! It had been hard, and several times he'd thought he wouldn't manage it, but he'd done it! Now all he had to do was keep it up every day for two years and he'd be home free.

"It won't be so bad..." he muttered, trying to convince himself. "I did it once, I can do it again. Maybe I can work out extra security measures..." he lay back, and began to formulate plans in his head.

He was still thinking of his new design for waterproof trousers when the landslide hit him.

----------------------------------------------------

Shigure Sohma looked up abruptly from his newspaper, startling a nearby Yuki who had been scanning the headlines from across the table.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, noticing his cousin's concerned frown.

"Landslide." Shigure's features were scrunched slightly in concentration. "The ridge in the clearing on the south side of the forest."

"Is it bad?"

"I'm not sure. We should go and check, in case the rocks are unsafe. We don't want people getting hurt."

"Yes. That stupid cat is out tonight. It would be just like him to let a rock land on his head." Yuki's voice held more than a touch of malice.

"Now now, Yuki." said his cousin mildly. "I'm sure Kyo is able to look after himself. Nevertheless, we had better go and see what damage has been done. It's caused a lot of disturbance."

Yuki didn't look too cheered by Shigure's words, but followed him out of the house and into the forest. His older cousin led him swiftly and surely through the trees, and it wasn't long before they found the pile of rubble and debris that marked the slide. However, there was something there they hadn't bargained for, sticking out of the mound.

"A tent pole!" exclaimed Shigure. "Who on earth is camping out here?"

Yuki slowly approached the pile of mud and rocks. "I think I know who..." he said softly, bending to inspect the rags of cloth and squashed articles on the edge of the mound. Suddenly a hand broke the surface, clawing wildly at air.

"Gods! There's someone in there!" yelled Shigure, darting forward and working frantically to try and clear the rocks. Yuki pitched in, and soon a very battered and muddy Ranma dragged himself out of the rubble, gasping.

"Thanks...thought I was gonna ...die in ...there." he panted. Yuki and Shigure helped him stand, where he made a pitiful attempt to brush the mud off his trousers.

"Ranma, are you alright?" asked Yuki. "That was very dangerous, you could have been killed!"

"I'm...fine. Tougher than... I look." Ranma managed a small smile, and gently removed Yuki's grip, allowing himself to stand without support.

"What are you doing living out here, Ranma?" said Yuki, puzzled. "Shigure, this is Ranma Saotome. He was new to my classes today at school. Ranma, this is Shigure Sohma, my cousin. "

"Nice to meet you Ranma, although it could have been in better circumstances." Shigure smiled. "Well I don't suppose you know it, but all this land here is Sohma property. I don't mind, but I can't work out why a boy of your age would be living in the woods."

"It's a kinda long story..." said Ranma, looking a bit uncomfortable. He didn't really want to explain everything to these people, nice though they were.

"You can explain later, Ranma. Right now I think you need to get cleaned up and get some rest. Come on." Yuki gently took Ranma's arm and began to lead him away.

"Hey! What are ya doin'?" said Ranma in surprise.

"Taking you back to the house, of course." said Yuki patiently. "You can't stay here. We can come back for your things in the morning. In the meantime I think you need to rest. You've just had a rather nasty accident." Shigure nodded agreement

"Come on Ranma." he said "You can stay with us tonight. It's no trouble." He took the protesting Ranma's other arm, and between them they escorted him out of the forest.

It wasn't until they were almost at the house that Ranma thought of something.

"Hey, how did you guys know there was a landslide? It's kinda far from your house."

The two cousins exchanged glances.

"It's a ...er...'gift', I guess." said Shigure wryly. They didn't speak again until they reached home.

----------------------------------------------------

As soon as they got back, Shigure insisted that Ranma take a bath.

"You'll need some clean clothes while yours are washed." he said, bustling around the cupboards in the laundry room, and finally digging out a pile of things for Ranma to wear. "Here you go."

"But Shigure," said Yuki, worried. "Aren't those - "

" - It'll be fine, Yuki." said Shigure, cutting him off. Walking past Yuki, he whispered in his ear. "I'll have a word with him." to which Yuki only sighed.

Ranma watched the exchange, bewildered. He glanced down at the clothes. They didn't seem to be the sort of thing either Yuki or Shigure wore, which made sense since neither of them were close to his size. He wondered vaguely who they belonged to, but shrugged it off as the sounds of a nice steaming hot bath caught his attention.

"Go in now Ranma." called Shigure cheerfully. "You'll feel much better afterwards." Ranma thanked him, and went into the bathroom, softly closing the door.

Once in, he undressed quickly and surveyed the bathroom. he hadn't stayed in a house for as long as he could remember, and he was looking forward to a hot bath - a luxury he had rarely experienced. First though, he had to rinse off the worst of the mud. Walking over to the taps, he wrinkled his nose in confusion. There were many different dials, and he wasn't sure where to begin. He decided to just pick one and hope for the best. Just as he reached for it, a huge bang sounded somewhere else in the house, and several seconds later a familiar voice could be heard.

"You did _WHAT!_"it was the orange-haired boy's voice, and he didn't sound happy. "How dumb can you get, inviting someone back here!"

There was a low murmuring, Ranma presumed it was Shigure and Yuki trying to calm the boy down. It didn't seem to be working very well. He kept on shouting, and there were a few thumps and bangs, as if things were being slammed, punched or thrown. Ranma decided to finish up quickly and make himself scarce. Not thinking, he twisted the dial under his hand violently, sending a spray of freezing water across the room.

"Aw, crap!" he said, now cold and in his cursed form to boot. He decided to just finish rinsing away the mud with the water he had, but then a particularly vicious shout caught his attention.

"_FINE!_ I'm going in the bath!"

"Damn!" Ranma thought, now in a panic. "I didn't put a sign on the door! If he comes in here...!" He scrambled to his feet, still dripping wet, and made to hold the door closed. his fingertips had all but brushed the handle, when the door slid swiftly open and he collided with someone on the other side, slipping in the water and landing in a heap on the floor. He had barely time to curse and start thinking of an explanation, when he noticed that the boy who SHOULD also be lying next to him wasn't there.

"Huh, wha -?"

But his confused question died in his throat, as he noticed the small orange animal in his lap, glaring at him with an extremely pissed off expression.

_"C-C-C...CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!"_

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes:** Please for the love of everything don't take this too seriously, since I certainly didn't! Comments and constructive criticism is fine, but flames will keep me warm at night. I haven't read anything like this before, so sorry if it's a repeat. Yes, I know that it's basically a combination of both starting episodes of Fruits Basket and Ranma 1/2 and yes, it was supposed to be like that. It's probably just going to be a one shot, since although I had ideas on how to continue it I am too lazy to actually write it. Credit goes to BasketWeaverJesser for the title, since I was too stupid to think of a good one. Hope you enjoyed it in any case.


	2. Chapter 2

**When Curses Collide **

**Chapter 2**

Yuki had been blessed with both good looks and better than average senses, but he was sure that in this instance the piercing scream from the bathroom was heard not only by himself and Shigure (who almost swallowed his pencil) but also by people sitting down to breakfast in Siberia. He barely had time to wince before something red shot past him and _through_ the nearest wall in a hail of splinters. Coughing politely and pulling wood chips out of his hair, he turned to face the obvious cause of the destruction as an orange cat stalked into the room and snarled at a bug-eyed Shigure:

"What are YOU lookin' at?"

"Oh my, Kyo." Shigure covered his mouth in surprise and confusion. "Tell me you didn't!"

"I didn't do ANYTHING!" yelled Kyo, his fur standing on end. "This crazy girl bumped into me as I went into the bathroom and I changed..." he trailed off. "Why was there a naked girl in our bathroom?" his fury changed suddenly into embarrassment.

"Stupid cat." Yuki's voice was filled with contempt. "There was no naked girl in the bathroom. There was a BOY called Ranma who we had invited to stay with us. You changed all on your own. Don't tell me you're ILL again..."

"Either that, Kyo, or - " Shigure began.

"Or NOTHING! There was a girl in there, and I'm going to prove it right now!" said Kyo as a clatter of pots from the kitchen reminded them that there was still _someone_ in their house.

"At the very least, we'd better try to find Ranma" said Shigure sombrely. He knew that if Ranma had seen Kyo's transformation then the future for him was not good. Yuki nodded agreement, and the two got up and followed Kyo to the roughly human-shaped hole that led into their kitchen.

There, getting shakily to her feet stood a young girl about 14 years old. A young, NAKED girl. Her hair was as red as Kyo's was orange, and she looked more than a little terrified. She was now covered in garbage from her dive into the kitchen and there was a banana peel in her hair. This didn't seem to concern her so much, since once she noticed the trio in the doorway her eyes grew as wide as dinner plates.

"G-G-Get it away from me..." she whimpered, backing into the counter as far as she could go.

For once, Kyo and Yuki were speechless. Kyo was trying unsuccessfully not to stare, and Yuki was wondering if his day could possibly get any more mysterious. Where on Earth was Ranma? It was left to Shigure to ask the most obvious - okay not the most obvious, but an important - question.

"Get what away?" he asked, seemingly oblivious to the chaos around him.

"The c...the ca..." the girl stammered, still retreating. Kyo had only just grasped her meaning and was about to snap out a response when a large puff of orange smoke temporarily robbed him of his breath, and his feline status.

The effect was like a lightning strike. The girl jerked as if she had been slapped, and sat down abruptly on a bag of garbage. Then she seemed to realise she was naked, and tried to remedy the effect with a strategically placed frying pan and an arm. Kyo yanked a tablecloth off a shelf and wrapped it round his waist, his face the colour of the girl's hair.

After the few seconds where modesty was temporarily restored to all parties, Shigure finally got round to asking THE most obvious question.

"Excuse me Miss, but who are you?"

The girl, her head down in embarrassment, staggered to her feet and bowed as best she could with one arm crossed over her chest and the other holding a piece of kitchenware in a very personal place.

"I'm Ranma Saotome." she mumbled. "Sorry 'bout this."

Yuki and Kyo just stared in astonishment as a loud thump from behind them told them that their older cousin had fainted dead away.

Everyone had moved as if in a trance since the "incident" in the kitchen. Ranma had sprinted for the bathroom after his announcement, and locked the door. Vigorous splashing could be heard from inside. Shigure and Yuki numbly returned the lounge and kitchen to a semblance of order, both of them determinedly avoiding the pans as they did so. Kyo had somehow got dressed and seated himself in the lounge with a riceball, occasionally staring in confusion towards the shut bathroom door. Eventually there were no more tasks to be done, and so they just waited. When the door to the bathroom finally opened and Ranma returned to the lounge, it was like opening Pandora's Box.

"Ranma! Are you alright?" concern from Shigure.

"Huh!" Yuki had had quite enough of impossibilities for one day.

"Those are MY PANTS!" Kyo, of course.

Ranma just stood frozen in the doorway, unsure what to do as the words were fired at him. He had washed away as much of the garbage as he could, returned to male form and got dressed in the clothes the Sohma family had given him. Thankfully they were masculine enough to at least partially restore his dented dignity. He tugged at his pigtail as he fumbled for an answer, but he really didn't know how to begin. He'd never had to explain his curse before, and how was he to explain the cat-fist training? It didn't help that he was full of questions himself. He didn't remember all too clearly - the terror from his phobia had lingered for several moments - but he was sure that the...animal...had changed into a boy. The same boy that was apparently demanding that he remove his trousers immediately. He inwardly sighed as he realised his strange life had suddenly, inexplicably become even more complicated.

"It's a long story..."

---------------------------

Twenty minutes later Ranma trailed off into silence. He had explained to them in stumbling sentences about his curse and his fear of cats, choosing to skirt around the moment in the bathroom as much as possible. The orange haired boy - Kyo, Ranma knew now - had glared at him through most of his tale, but at some point he had seemed to sag, and now he was stubbornly looking down at the table, slowly drawing circles on the wood with his finger. Yuki and Shigure were just staring at him with a mixture of shock and sympathy. Finally it was Yuki who spoke.

"Thank you for explaining Ranma, I know it must have been hard for you. Please sit down." he gestured to a space beside him and Ranma gratefully flopped onto the cushion, throwing a curious glance at Kyo who did not look up. He was now tugging at a beaded bracelet on his wrist.

"I think we have some explaining to do as well, Ranma." Yuki continued. "We do not usually tell this to people, but I think in your case an exception can be made." he met Shigure's gaze, and they both nodded imperceptibly.

"Has this got something to do with the...er..." Ranma looked fearfully back at the bathroom and then at Kyo, who sensed his attention and looked up. Ranma's blue eyes met furious amber ones and he gulped, trying his hardest not to think about how cat-like they were and failing miserably. Eventually Kyo muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "Damned rat!" and stomped out of the room and up the stairs. Yuki and Shigure totally ignored him, and Yuki continued the conversation as if nothing had happened.

"Yes Ranma. You see, yours is not the only type of curse..."

Ten minutes later and Ranma was glad he was sitting down. He had thought his own curse was bad enough, but what Yuki described to him was just incredible! For an entire family to be born cursed and have to keep it a secret! He thought about what Yuki had told him - Each member of the family was possessed by the spirit of a different animal. - Yuki had said his spirit was the rat, and Shigure's the dog. And so if Yuki ever tried to get close to a girl... Ranma didn't even want to think about it! And Kyo... his spirit was Ranma's worst nightmare! Not only that, but Yuki had made it clear that Kyo was not welcome in the family. It seemed things between them were very strained. Ranma really wanted to ask why, but Yuki didn't seem to like talking about Kyo, and Shigure always smoothly avoided the subject. He settled for trying to overcome his curiosity in other ways.

"How do you manage at school?"

"With difficulty, like you it seems." Yuki smiled a little as he saw Ranma wince, recalling the amount of water dodging he had done earlier. "We are supposed to go to same-sex schools, but I was a bit ...stubborn. I wanted to live as normal a life as I could. Overall I have not regretted my choice, although sometimes after a close call I tend to think I must be crazy to take the risk."

Ranma nodded in understanding. He knew how it felt to want to be normal and fit in.

"Um, can I ask a stupid question?" he stammered after a few seconds thought.

"The answer is: 'Yes, but very carefully!'" said Shigure, giggling. He was abruptly silenced by a book thrown at his head by Yuki.

"Idiot!" Yuki held his head in his hands.

"What did he mea - ?" asked Ranma, puzzled.

" - Never mind, it's nothing." said Yuki, a little too quickly. "Please continue. I'm sure your question isn't stupid."

"I was just gonna ask about... y'know... the curses. My Pop, he turns into a panda like I said. I only saw it a few times but when my Pop changed it looked different to when...er...Kyo...did it. I was Just wonderin' why...er...if you knew why."

Yuki thought for a moment. "Your changes look different?"

"Well, yeah I think so." Ranma scratched his head. "When Kyo...you know...It was like a cloud appeared 'round him for a second and I could have sworn I heard some kinda noise..."

"That's right." said Yuki. "There's always a cloud - we're not sure what it is, but it only appears for a second - and you can hear the change too if you know what to listen for."

"Well with ours it's not like that." Ranma sat thoughtfully. "It just...works. No cloud or nothin', and I think you can see it happen if you look close enough, though it only takes a few seconds." he shuddered at a past memory.

"Perhaps the cloud and noise is the spirit inside us?" suggested Yuki. "I never really thought about it before, but that could be the sign of the spirits of the Zodiac being present and affecting us."

"You might be right, Yuki." said Shigure, smiling. "I never really thought of it that way, but it's an interesting thought."

"I don't think my curse has anything to do with spirits." said Ranma. "I mean, a spirit might have caused the spring to be cursed, but I don't think there's a spirit here now, and I am certainly not bein' controlled by some spirit girl!" he finished, almost angrily.

"Well that makes sense, since you got your curse in a totally different way to us. It's logical that it could have a different source and a different way of operating." said Yuki calmly. "I'm just interested in the fact that your curse seems to activate ours."

"Huh?"

"Even though you weren't born a girl, your girl body still activates our curse. At least, I am assuming that's what happened." Yuki glanced at the ceiling as if expecting to hear something.

"What do you mean?" Ranma was getting confused again.

"Did you bump into Kyo while you were a girl, or did he just change?"

"Oh! I bumped into him...or he bumped into me." Ranma squirmed at the thought of Kyo seeing his naked girl form.

"Then I was right, you did activate it. I only asked because our curse can in some cases be triggered by emotions or extreme exhaustion as well as physical contact." said Yuki, eyeing Ranma curiously.

"Oh..." was all Ranma could think of to say.

"Say Ranma." said Shigure suddenly. "What do you say to a little experiment?" He got to his feet and went into the bathroom. Yuki, knowing his cousin's mind all too well, guessed what was coming.

"Shigure, don't you dare!" he warned.

"It's all in good fun, Yuki!" called Shigure cheerfully from the bathroom. The sound of running water could be heard through the corridor. Ranma had a very bad feeling about this.

"Our curses are not "fun" you idiot!" Yuki was looking angry now.

"Oh come on Yuki dear!" cooed Shigure, sliding back into the room with a glass in his hand. "Just this once!" he turned a predatory gaze on Ranma. "Now now, Ranma. As you are my guest in this house, what do you say to doing me a favour in the name of science and let us compare curses?" He held up the glass, arms wide, a grin spreading across his face. Ranma just stared.

"Shigure! That's disgusting!" Yuki growled. "You are such a pervert!"

"Oh! You wound me!" mourned Shigure, not looking in the least bit hurt. "All I wanted was to see how careful we had to be from now on while dear Ranma was staying with us!"

"You want to see him as a girl again, you mean." said Yuki contemptuously.

"Well yes that too. But you can't blame me! I'm a lonely old man!" Shigure struck a dramatic pose, only just managing to balance the water he held before it landed on the floor. "What do you say, Ranma?"

"Er..." Ranma blushed furiously. Shigure had been so nice to him, but what he was suggesting...he wasn't sure how serious the guy really was.

"Well I did start the comparison thing in the first place." he conceded, to Shigure's whoop of delight.

"Hurray! Let's get started!" he held out the water. Before Ranma could even think of taking it, Yuki grabbed it from Shigure's outstretched hand.

"No way." he said firmly. "You are not making him do this."

"But Yuki..." protested Ranma faintly. He didn't want to upset his host, no matter how crazy he seemed.

"Don't worry about it Ranma." said Yuki. "There has got to be a more scientific way than this idiot suggested. I just can't think of one right now." he looked annoyed. "But what I do know is, you shouldn't let him take advantage of you like that!" with that he dragged a protesting Shigure out of the room and when he returned a few minutes later only faint protests could be heard upstairs. When Yuki had closed the door behind him, Ranma held his hand out soundlessly for the glass of water.

"Ranma, you don't need to - "

"Might as well get it over with. You were probably goin' to see sooner or later anyway."

"But -"

"Just give it here." Ranma held out his hand again, and this time Yuki put the glass into it." Taking a deep breath, he poured it over his head.

Yuki watched in fascination at the change, then blushed and looked away as he realised he was staring and that the girl - _Ranma_ - was trying to adjust Kyo's wet clothing so that it didn't fall off her small body.

"I'm finished now." sniggered Ranma, and Yuki looked up to find the redhead looking at her with some amusement.

"What's so funny?"

"Just that for someone born into a family of people with curses, you certainly embarrass easily!"

"We don't er... change with girls..." stammered Yuki. "That is... girls who are cursed and boys who are cursed don't activate the change so I have never, um..."

"Oh, right sorry." Ranma twitched. "My other clothes are better equipped for this. But now I am like this weren't we going to see what happens with your curse?"

"That would mean...ah..."

"What?"

"Well, you know how our curse is activated?"

"Through physical...oh." He'd almost forgotten about that. "Does it have to be really –" he began plaintively.

"- close contact, yes." Yuki finished for him, looking at the floor.

"Well I could just bump into ya, like I did with Kyo." suggested Ranma.

Yuki considered this. "I guess so, but we'd have to be careful we didn't stop at the last minute, and you'd have to be careful not to squash me."

"Huh?"

"Rat, remember?" Yuki grinned. "I guess we could give it a try."

They squared off at opposite ends of the room. Each acting more like this was a fight to the death rather than a little purposeful collision. Yuki braced himself in an athletic stance, and Ranma in his normal combat position. Each took the measure of the other, judging speed, power and accuracy. Each wondered over and over "What will it be like?" Finally the tension exploded, and the two charged with identical yells.

It was swift, brutal and ended in a bang and a puff of grey smoke. Kyo bounded down the stairs three at a time and threw open the door of the lounge to find a wet girl with a huge bump on her head lying on the now broken table. It only took a couple of seconds for him to register the unconscious rodent on her chest.

"Just what the hell are you doing, you damned rat?"

Ranma woozily lifted his head.

"Not his...fault." he managed to get out. "…Faster than I thought."

Then he collapsed back into a senseless heap, only dimly registering a rat with Yuki's voice apologising to his shirt.

Author Notes – Again, please don't take this story too seriously. I kind of know where I am going with it, but it's taking longer than planned (as usual.) Thank you everyone who reviewed the first chapter – you're what kept me going!


End file.
